Strange and Beautiful
by Boomerang Butterfly
Summary: They were both drawn to each other, but neither of them knew it. All they needed was a spell...Oneshot. JetFaye


Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own a thing…just the plot. Contains the lyrics to the song "Strange and Beautiful" by Aqualung, so they own the lyrics too. (darn)

There were times when he just liked watching her sleep. He liked the rise and fall of her deep, restful breaths in her chest. Or the way she murmured unintelligible things in her slumber. He didn't know why but sometimes, when he lay in his own bed, restless and frenzied, he would creep to her room and watch her sleep. It seemed to calm him down enough to get sleepy himself. _I've been watching your world from afar…I've been trying to be where you are…_

He never said a word about his nightly visits to her bedroom. He was sure she'd lock the door, think he was some kind of weird freak. Was it so strange that he liked to watch her dream? Was it that bad of a thing that he wanted to be the one she dreamed of? _And I've been secretly falling apart, unseen… _

He had dreams about her all the time, when he slept, that is. The last few months he had been insomniac, but definitely not her. He knew she slept to get away from what she'd have to face in the day. If only she knew she wouldn't have to face them alone. _To me, you're strange and you're beautiful, you'd be so perfect with me but you just can't see…_

At night, he wrote invisible poems to her above her bed, the letters all in a glowing light densely made of fireflies and stardust. At night, when she wasn't aware of it, he dreamed of all the ways he would take care of her, of all the things he would do for her. At night, he thought of all the ways he could tell her how beautiful she was. _You turn every head but you don't see me…_

He swore he would make her fall for him.

Maybe there was a spell for this kind of thing.

_I'll put a spell on you,  
You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you.  
And when I wake you,  
I'll be the first thing you see,   
And you'll realize that you love me._

She often wondered if he knew how much he meant to her. If he was even aware that he was probably the one thing that kept her sane. He was all she had left in this life, and he probably knew that much. But she wondered if he knew how much she dreaded being alone.

She did a lot of sleeping. It was the one activity she could do and get away from all her problems. Her debts, her loneliness, the ache that settled in her heart from loosing Spike. And while she slept she dreamed, not of Spike, the clairvoyant martyr who'd given his life for some woman who probably didn't care and not even of her lost family and long gone life from fifty plus years before. No, she dreamed of him. Of the one thing she never expected to want. _Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first…  
_

In her fantasies, she had been the hard edged beauty who held out till she found her knight in shining armor. Someone with a huge bank account that not only spoiled her materially, but emotionally as well. She was always on his mind, the center of his being. But time and experience had shown her different. The likely hood of ever finding her "perfect man" was slimmer than the graceful fingers with which she often drummed on a table. _Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes…  
_

So she had resolved to wait. To wait for someone, something that was remotely like her vision of romance. Several months passed after Spike's suicide mission and she now knew that that man would never come._ And I know, the waiting is all you can do, sometimes... _

Instead of a knight she got an ex-cop. Instead of a huge bank account, she got just barely scraping by. Instead of being suave and sophisticated, she got gruff and bald. But she wouldn't have traded it for the world. Only problem was, he didn't know. And he especially didn't know that, on those few nights that he did sleep, she snuck into his room and watched him sleeping. Sometimes, she got close enough to him to feel his breath. And sometime, when she felt really bold, she'd trace the edges of lips and wonder how they'd feel on hers.

In the day, the acted like nothing was different, even though it was. They were so much nicer to each other, a quiet understanding that the other had to grieve for the loss of one comrade in his own way. Sometimes, they sat side by side and watched TV for hours, not speaking but saying everything at the same time. Her fingers would just barely brush his, or he'd cast a glance at her longingly, but never for too long. Because neither thought that the other should've known.

But one night, one sweet night, it all changed. Subtly, of course, because neither knew what the other was doing. He had fallen asleep on the couch and she could just not resist watching him. So she did. And she wished fervently that he would love her as much as she loved him…__

I'll put a spell on you,  
You'll fall asleep,   
I'll put a spell on you,  
And when I wake you,  
I'll be the first thing you see,  
And you'll realize that you love me.  


When she had gone to bed and had been asleep several hours, he awoke for some strange reason. It was as if a feeling had roused him just to venture to her room and begin his drowsy vigil at her bedside. So he did. And sitting there, watching her breathing, wondering if her pink lips were as soft as they looked, he made a wish. He wished she'd love him as much as he loved her…_  
_

_I'll put a spell on you,  
You'll fall asleep,  
I'll put a spell on you,  
And when I wake you,  
I'll be the first thing you see,   
And you'll realize that you love me._

Neither one would be prepared for what happened the next morning.

She woke up, and he woke up, just like any other morning. But they never woke up at the same time. And this time they did. She walked out her room, to the bathroom, and he to the kitchen. She went the opposite way to her room to dress, and he went to the bathroom.

And then they finally met in the hall, minutes after he finished his shower, his skin still damp from the mist.

Her eyes locked with his. His eyes locked with hers. For a few long moments, they couldn't move. And as if a spell had been placed on both of them, they moved toward each other. It was unconscious, unexpected, but not unwanted. She was inches away from him, and as if by instinct he touched her face. Her eyes slid shut, and before she could open them again, his lips were on hers.

It was the sweetest kiss either had ever felt. It was innocent, a butterfly's kiss, but full of passion and something else that neither he nor she had named yet. _Love._

When the kiss broke, she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest and he held her tightly to him, not ever wanting to let go.

"Can I stay with you, here?" she asked softly.

"Yes…of course you can…" he responded, dreamily.

"How long can I stay?"

"Forever…if you want."

"Do you want me to stay forever?" she whispered.

"Yes…very much…"

"Then I'll stay…forever." She replied.

He still watched her sleep, even after she married him, even after she bore him a son, then a daughter, then another daughter. After ten years, he still watched her sleep. Only this time, she was right there beside him to admire.

Fin

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